§ 5-10.09. Permits: Construction.

(a)

Within thirty (30) days after the acceptance of any new franchise granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the grantee shall proceed with due diligence to obtain all the necessary permits and authorizations which are required in the conduct of its business, including, but not limited to, any utility joint use attachment agreement, microwave carrier license, and any other permit, license, and authorization to be granted by duly constituted regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over the operation of cable television systems or associated microwave transmission facilities.

In connection therewith, copies of all petitions, applications and communications submitted by the grantee to the Federal Communications Commission in the course of obtaining a certificate of compliance shall be submitted upon request to the Director of Environmental Services.

(b)

Within ninety (90) days after obtaining all the necessary permits, licenses, and authorizations, including rights of access to poles and conduits, the grantee shall commence the construction and installation of the cable television system.

(c)

Within 180 days after the commencement of the construction and installation of the system, the grantee shall proceed to render service to the subscribers, and the completion of the installation and construction shall be pursued with reasonable diligence thereafter so that service to all of the areas designated and scheduled on the map and plan of construction made a part of the franchise shall be provided as set forth therein.

(d)

The failure on the part of the grantee to commence and diligently pursue each of the requirements of this section and to complete each of the matters set forth in this chapter shall be grounds for the termination of such franchise. By resolution the Council, at its discretion, may extend the time for the commencement and completion of the installation and construction for additional periods in the event the grantee, acting in good faith, experiences delays by reason of circumstances beyond its control.

Failure to comply with the time requirements herein shall subject Grantee to penalties of One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars per day for each and every day's delay beyond the time prescribed.

(e)

The grantee shall utilize existing poles, conduits, and other facilities whenever possible and shall not construct or install any new, different, or additional poles, conduits, or other facilities, whether on public property or on privately-owned property, unless and until first securing the written approval of the City Manager. Further, the undergrounding provisions of subsection (6) of subsection (d) of Section 5-10.10 of this chapter shall apply under this subsection. Any construction, installation, placement, replacement, or change which may be required shall be made at no expense of the City.

(f)

The City shall have the right to make additional use, for any public or municipal purpose, whether governmental or proprietary, of any pole or conduit controlled or maintained exclusively by or for the grantee in any street provided such use by the City does not interfere with the use by the grantee.

(g)

In those areas of the City where the transmission or distribution of the respective public utilities providing telephone communication, and electric services are underground, or hereafter are placed underground, the grantee likewise shall construct, operate, and maintain all of its transmission and distribution facilities underground. The term "underground" shall include a partial underground system; amplifiers in the grantee's transmission and distribution lines may be placed in appropriate housings upon the surface of the ground. Should technological advances be made during the term of a grantee's franchise which would allow flush mounted equipment that would provide the same or better service than above ground housings, and at such time that such equipment becomes cost effective and practical for the grantee to provide, and upon mutual agreement of the City and the grantee, the grantee shall utilize such equipment in all new projects. Should such equipment become available under the circumstances noted above, the grantee shall also when upgrading or repairing cable in an existing development, replace above ground housings with flush mounted housings or other visually less obtrusive equipment.

(h)

The grantee, at its expense, shall protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate, or remove any property of the grantee when, in the opinion of the City Manager, the same is required by reason of traffic conditions, public safety, street vacations, freeway or street construction, changes or establishment of street grades, and the installation of sewers, drains, waterpipes, power lines, signal lines, transportation facilities, tracks, or any other types of structures or improvements by governmental agencies, whether acting in a governmental or a proprietary capacity, or any other structure or public improvement, including, but not limited to, the movement of buildings, urban renewal and redevelopment, and any general program under which the City shall undertake to cause all such properties to be located beneath the surface of the ground. The grantee shall in all cases have the privilege, subject to the corresponding obligations, to abandon any property of the grantee in place as provided in subsection (j) of this section. Nothing set forth in this section shall be deemed a taking of the property of the grantee, and it shall be entitled to no surcharge by reason of anything set forth in this section.

(i)

Grantee shall be provided reasonable notice and an opportunity to cure any alleged defect, however, upon the failure, refusal, or neglect of the grantee to cause any work or other act required by law, this chapter, or the franchise agreement to be properly completed in, on, over, or under any street within any time prescribed, the City Manager may cause such work or other act to be completed in whole or in part and, upon so doing, shall submit to the grantee an itemized statement of the costs thereof. The grantee shall, within thirty (30) days after the receipt of such statement, pay to the City the entire amount thereof.

(j)

In the event the use of any part of the system of the grantee is discontinued for any reason for a continuous period of thirty (30) days, without prior written notice to and approval by the City; or any part of such system has been installed in any street or other area without complying with the requirements of this chapter, or if any franchise shall be terminated, cancelled, or shall expire, the grantee shall, at the option of the City, and at the expense of the grantee and at no expense to the City, and upon the demand of the City, promptly remove from any rights-of-way or other area, all the property of the grantee, and the grantee shall promptly restore the rights-of-way, or other area from which such property was removed to such condition as previously existed.

The Council may, upon the written application therefor by the grantee, approve the abandonment of any of such property in place by the grantee and under such terms and conditions as the Council may prescribe. Upon the abandonment of any such property in place, the grantee shall cause to be executed, acknowledged, and delivered to the City such instruments as the City Attorney shall prescribe and approve transferring and conveying the ownership of such property to the City.

(§ 2, Ord. 719, eff. January 4, 1990)